A data carrier having a contact plate is typically referred to as a smartcard. Such cards are generally of a standard credit card size and shape and there is a microchip embedded within the body of the card. The card provides not only memory capacity but also computational capacity as well because the chip is capable of processing data. The main body of the card is typically plastic or a paper plastic composite and there is a contact plate on the external surface of the card which is in electrical communication with the microchip that is contained in the body of the card.
The contact plate (sometimes referred to a contact area) is approximately 1 square centimeter (0.16 sq in), comprising several gold-plated contact pads. These pads provide electrical connectivity when inserted into a card reader. The contact plate is on one side of the card and when a card is inserted in a card reader in the correct orientation the electrical contacts of the card reader connect with the contacts on the card face. When the card is inserted in a Smart Card reader there is an electrical connection so data is read or written onto the card via the chip on the card. It is via these physical contact points that the transmission of commands, data and card status takes place. Such cards are typically used at retail point of sales or in banking environments.
Credit or Smart cards are often decorated with images, and these images can denote the provider of the card or the service provided by the card supplier. Also cards may bear advertising or pictures of the card holder, for example in the case of driving licenses or passports.
When including data on the surface of a card there are two main processes for including that data,—“Initialization” and “Personalization”.
‘Initialization’ is a term used primarily to describe the process of programming the smart card chip with data that is the same for a batch of cards. An example of initialized data would be a file structure and secure key information for a specific application. The initialization process could also include the printing of information, such as a logo, that is common to all the cards in that batch.
‘Personalization’ is a general term used to describe the process of printing (or embossing) data on the surface of the card, encoding the magnetic stripe on the card, and programming data into the smart card chip. A more exact definition of personalization is doing the processes described above (printing, encoding, and programming) to a card with data specific to an individual cardholder.
In many cases, the initialization process and the personalization process are done together when the smart card is being issued.
When printing on a card, the printing is on the surface of the card but not on the contact plate to avoid reducing electrical contact between the card and a reader. To date the contact plate has been of a small size and so it does not detract from the overall appearance of the card. However cards are now being produced that have larger contact plates as more functions are included in the card, such as the inclusion of antenna in the contact plate itself. The increased size of the contact plate is more intrusive on the visual appearance of the card to the user. An added disadvantage is that there is less room on the card surface for printing advertising data or information. Furthermore, the contact plate may be more vulnerable to scratches.
The present invention seeks to overcome the problems associated with the prior art by providing a contact plate having a printed area thereon.